ZLATEH THE GOAT AND OTHER STORIES - ENGLISH - ISAAC B. SINGER

HARPER TROPHY

AND OTHER STORIES

by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Pictures by MAURICE SENDAK

Zlateh the Goat
and Other Stories

Zlateh the Goat

and Other Stories

by

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Pictures by MAURICE SENDAK

Translated from the Yiddish
by the Author and Elizabeth Shub

HarperTrophy

A Division of Ha^rperC&llinsPublhhen

Zialeh the Goat and Other Stones
Text copyright © 1966 by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Pictures copyrighl © 1966 by Maurice Sendak
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced n any manner
whatsoever without writlen permission except in the case of bnet Quota* :n$

embodied in critical articles and reviews
For information address HarperCollins Children s Books a division c
HarperCollins Publishers. 10 East 53rd Street. New York MY 10022
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number AC 66- 1 01 3

ISBN 0-06-025698-2
ISBN 0-06-025699-0 (lib bdg
ISBN 0-06-440147-2 (ptak )

Firsl Harper Trophy edition 1984

Contents

Foreword xi

Fool’s Paradise 5

Grandmother’s Tale 21

The Snow in Chelm 29

The Mixed-Up Feet and the Silly Bridegroom 39

The First Shlemiel 55

The Devil’s Trick yi

Zlateh the Goat

79

Foreword

CHILDREN arc as puzzled by passing time as grown-
ups* What happens to a day once it is gone? Where are
all our yesterdays with their joys and sorrows? Literature
helps us remember the past with its many moods* To the
storyteller yesterday is still here as are the years and the
decades gone by*

In stories time does not vanish* Neither do men and
animals* For the writer and his readers all creatures go on
living forever. What happened long ago is still present.

It is in this spirit that I wrote these tales* In real life
many of the people that I describe no longer exist, but to
me they remain alive and I hope they will amuse the
reader with their wisdom, their strange beliefs, and some-
limes with their foolishness.

I dedicate this book to the many children who had no
chance to grow up because of stupid wars and cruel per-
secutions which devastated cities and destroyed innocent
families. I hope that when the readers of these stories
become men and women they will love not only their own
i hildren but all good children everywhere.

L B. S*

Fool’s Paradise

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FOOL’S PARADISE

SOMEWHERE, sometime, there lived a rich man whose
name was Kadish. He had an only son who was called
Atzel. In the household of Kadish there lived a distant
relative, an orphan girl, called Aksah. Atzel was a tall boy
with black hair and black eyes, Aksah was somewhat
shorter than Atzel, and she had blue eyes and golden hair.
Both were about the same age. As children, they ate to-
gether, studied together, played together. Atzel played
the husband; Aksah, his wife. It was taken for granted
that when they grew up they would really marry.

But when they had grown up, Atzel suddenly became
ill. It was a sickness no one had ever heard of before: Atzel
imagined that he was dead.

How did such an idea come to him? It seems it came
from listening to stories about paradise. He had had art
old nurse who had constantly described the place to him.
She had told him that in paradise it was not necessary to
work or to study or make any effort whatsoever. In para
disc one ate the meat of wild oxen and the llesh of whales;
one drank the wine that the Lord reserved for the just;
one slept late into the day; and one had no duties.

Atzel was lazy by nature. He hated to get up early in
the morning and to study languages and science. He knew
that one day he would have to take over his father's busi-
ness and he did not want to.

Since his old nurse had told Atzel that the only way to
get to paradise was to die, he had made up his mind to do
just that as quickly as possible. He thought and brooded
about it so much that soon he began to imagine that he
was dead.

Of course his parents became lerribly worried when
they saw what was happening to Atzel. Aksah cried in
secret. The family did everything possible to try to con-
vince Atzel that he was alive, but he refused to believe
them. He would say, “Why don’t you bury me? You see
that I am dead. Because of you I cannot get to paradise.”

Many doctors were called in to examine Atzel, and all
tried to convince the boy that he was alive, They pointed
out that he was talking, eating, and sleeping, liut before
long Atzel began to eat less and he rarely spoke. His fam-
ily feared that he would die.

In despair Kadish went to consult a great specialist,
celebrated for his knowledge and wisdom. His name was
Dr. Yoetz. After listening to a description of Atzel's ill-

ness, he said to Kadish, ”1 promise to cure your son in
eight days, on one condition. You must do whatever I tell
you to, no matter how strange it may seem.”

Kadish agreed, and Dr. Yoetz said he would visit Atzel
that same day. Kadish went home to prepare the house-
hold. He told his wife, Aksah, and the servants that all
were to follow the doctor's orders without question, and
they did so.

When Dr. Yoetz arrived, he was taken to Atzel's room.
The boy lay on his bed, pale and thin from fasting, his
hair disheveled, his nightclothes wrinkled.

The doctor took one look at Atzel and called out, "Why
do you keep a dead body in the house? Why don't you
make a funeral?”

On hearing these words the parents became terribly
frightened, but Atzel’s face lit up with a smile and he
said, ‘You sec, I was right.”

Although Kadish and his wife were bewildered by the
doctor's words, they remembered Kadish s promise, and
went immediately to make arrangements for the funeral.

Atzel now became so excited by what the doctor had
said that he jumped out of bed and began to dance and
clap his hands. His joy made him hungry and lie asked for
food. But Dr. Yoetz replied, "Wait, you will eat in
paradise,”

The doctor requested that a room be prepared to look
like paradise. The walls were hung with white satin, and
precious rugs covered the floors. The windows were shut-
tered, and draperies tightly drawn. Candles and oil lamps
burned day and night. The servants were dressed in
white with wings on their backs and were ro play angels.

Atzel was placed in an open coffin, and a funeral cere-
mony was held. Atzel was so exhausted with happiness
that he slept right through it. When lie awoke, he found
himself in a room he didn't recognize. “Where am 1?" he
asked.

“In paradise, my lord,” a winged servant replied.

“I’m terribly hungry,” Atzel said. “I’d like some whale

flesh and sacred wine.”

“In a moment, my lord.”

The chief servant clapped his hands and a door opened
through which there carne men servants and maids, all
with wings on their backs, bearing golden trays laden
with meat, fish, pomegranates and persimmons, pine-
apples and peaches. A tall servant with a long white bcaid
carried a golden goblet full of wine. Atzel was so starved
that he ate ravenously. The angels hovered around him,
filling his plate and goblet even before he had time to
ask for more.

When he had finished eating, Atzel declared he wanted
to rest. Two angels undressed and bathed him. 1 hen they
brought him a nightdress of hue embioidered linen,
placed a nightcap with a tassel on his head, and can led
him to a bed with silken sheets and a purple velvet
canopy. Atzel immediately fell into a deep and happy

sleep,

When he awoke, it was morning but it could just as
well have been night. The shutters were closed, and the
candles and oil lamps were burning. As soon as the ser-
vants saw that Atzel was awake, they brought in exactly

the same meal as the day before.

“Why do you give me the same food as yesterday.'’

Atzel asked. “Don't you have any milk, coffee* fresh rolls*
and butter? 1 ”

“No, my lord* In paradise one always eats the same
food/’ the servant replied.

“Is it already day, or is it still night?*' Atzel asked.

“In paradise there is neither day nor night. 1 '

Dr. Yoetz had given careful instructions on how the
servants were to talk to Atzel and behave toward him.

Atzel again ate the fish, meat* fruit, and drank the wine,
but his appetite was not as good as it had been. When he
had finished his meal and washed his hands in a golden
finger bowl, he asked, “What time is it?”

“In paradise time does not exist / 1 the servant answered.
“What shall I do now? 1 ' Atzel questioned,

“In paradise, my lord, one doesn't do anything / 1
“Where are the other saints ?’ 1 Atzel inquired, “I'd like
to meet them/'

“In paradise each family has a place of its own.”

“Can't one go visiting?”

“In paradise the dwellings are too far from each other
for visiting. It would take thousands of years to go from
one to the other/'

1 When will my family come?” Atzel asked.

“Your father still has twenty years to live, your mother
thirty. And as long as they live they can t come here,"
“What about Aksah?"

“She has more than fifty years to live/'

“Do I have to be alone all that time?”

“Yes* my lord/*

For a while Atzel shook his head* pondering. Then he
asked, “What is Aksah going to do?”

“Right now, she’s mourning for you. Rut you know, my
lord* that one cannot mourn forever. Sooner or later she
will forge i yon, meet another young man, and marry.
That's how it is with the living/’

Atzel got up and began to walk to and fro. His long
sleep and the rich food had restored his energy. For the
first time in years lazy Atzel had a desire to do something,
but there was nothing to do in Iris paradise.

For eight days Atzel remained in his false heaven, and
from day to day lie became sadder and sadder. He missed
his father; he longed for his mother; he yearned for
Aksah, Idleness did not appeal to him as it had in
former times. Now he wished he had something to study;
he dreamed of traveling; he wanted to ride his horse, to
talk to friends. The food, which had so delighted him the
first day, lost its flavor.

The time came when he could no longer conceal his
sadness. He remarked to one of the servants, “I see now
that it is not as bad to live as 1 had thought."

“To live, my lord, is difficult. One has to study, work,
do business, Here everything is easy/' the servant con-
soled him.

“I would rather chop wood and carry stones than sit
here. And how long will this last?"

U P H

forever.

“Stay here forever?" Atzel began to tear his hair in
grief. "I’d rather kill myself."

"A dead man cannot kill himself/ 1

On the eighth day, when it seemed that Atzel had
reached the deepest despair, one of the servants, as had
been arranged, came to him and said. My lord, there

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has been a mistake. You are not dead. You must leave
paradise.”

'I’m alive?”

4 Yes, you arc alive, and 1 will bring you back lo earth.”
Atzel was beside himself with joy. The servant blind-
folded him, and after leading him back and forth through
the long corridors of the house, brought him to the room
where his family was waiting and uncovered his eyes.

It was a bright day, and the sun shone through the open
windows. A breeze from the surrounding fields and
orchards freshened the air. In the garden outside, the
birds were singing and the bees buzzing as they flew from
flower to flower. From the barns and stables Atzel could
hear the mooing of cows and the neighing of horses. Joy-
fully he embraced and kissed his parents and Aksah*

' I didn't know how good it was to be alive,” he cried

OtlL

And to Aksah he said: ‘Haven't you met another young
man while I was away? Do you still love me?”

”Yes, I do, AtzeL I could not forget you.”

”If that is so, i i is time we got married.''

It was not long before Lhe wedding took place. Dr.
Yoetz was the guest of honor. Musicians played; guests
came from faraway cities. Some came on horseback, some
drove mules, and some rode camels. All brought fine gifts
lor the bride and groom, in gold, silver, ivory, and as-
sorted precious stones. The celebration lasted seven
days and seven nights. It was one of the gayest weddings
i hat old men had ever remembered. Awl and Aksah were
extremely happy, and both lived to a ripe old age. Atzel
slopped being lazy and became the most diligent mer-

chant in the whole region. His trading caravans traveled
as far as Baghdad and India.

It was not until after the wedding that Atzel learned
how Dr. Yoetz had cured him, and that he had lived
in a fool’s paradise. In the years to come he often talked
with Aksah about his adventures, and later they told the
talc of Dr. Yoetz’s wonderful cure to their children and
grandchildren, always finishing with the words, “But, of
course, what paradise is really like, no one can tell."

Grandmother’s Tale

W- J r " JW'; '

1

GRANDMOTHER’S TALE

IT’S GREAT fun to play dreidel* But children must
go to sleep* That is what Grandmother Leah had said.
They begged her to tell them a story first.

Once upon a time a father had four sons and four
daughters. The sons wore earlocks, the girls, braids.
Standing next to each other, they looked like the steps of
a ladder. It was Hanukkah, and after the candles were
lit, they all got Hanukkah money and sat down to play
dreidel, forgetting about bedtime. Mother and father re-
minded them that it was getting late. But the children
who were winning wanted to win more, and those who
were losing wanted to win back what they had lost. Sud-
denly there was a knock at the door* In came a young man
with sideburns and a curled moustache. He wore a coat

lined with fox fur, a hat with a feather in it, high boots
with spurs. He was covered with snow, but he looked gay
and untroubled. He had lost his way in the blizzard, he
said. Could he stay till morning?

Outside stood his sleigh. It was adorned with carved
ivory, was drawn by four white horses, and the reins shone
with jewels. The boys unharnessed the horses, took them
into the stable, and fed them hay and oats. They asked
the guest if he were hungry, ‘Like a wolf;' he replied.
Would he join them in playing dreidel? “Gladly/" he said,
and sat down at the table to play with them.

He ate pancakes with cinnamon, drank tea with jam,
and puffed smoke rings from his amber pipe. lie staked
silver coins and lost them. He put out gold coins and lost
them too. For everybody else the drcidel stopped on
Gimch for him it always fell on Nun. He lost and
laughed, lost again and joked. He drank wine and mead,
and his purse seemed to have no bottom. Midnight had
passed and bedtime was forgotten. Dogs barked in the
night, roosters crowed, hens cackled, crows cawed, geese
honked* ducks quacked. In the stable the horses neighed
and stamped their hooves on the ground.

“What’s wrong with our animals tonight?" the oldest
boy asked. At that moment he looked at the wall and
noticed that there were only eight shadows instead of
nine. The stranger did not cast a shadow* Now everything
was dear. It is known that devils cast no shadows* Their
guest was not a man but a demon. When the clock struck
thirteen times, there was no longer any doubt who the
stranger really was.

The stranger saw by the children’s frightened faces that

his secret was out. He rose with a loud laugh, stuck his
longue out to his belly, and grew twice as tall. Horns
came from behind his ears, and there he stood, a devil*
Before anyone could say a word, he began to spin like a
dreidel, round and round, and the house spun with him*
The Hanukkah lamp swayed, plates clattered to the floor
which shook like a ship on a stormy sea* The devil whis-
tled, Mice appeared, and goblins in red caps and green
boots whirled around in a ring, laughing and screaming.
Suddenly the devil sprouted wings, clapped them to-
gether, “Cock-a-doodle-doo/' and the whole company
disappeared.

Gold and silver turned to dust,

In the snow a track of rust ,

Gone the treasure on the bench r
Nothing left but devil's stench .

El flocks in the childrens hair ,

Devil s dirt was everywhere.

Good the devil's gone away
With h is horses and his sleigh*

Such a pity , such a shame ,

Hanukkah night and a devil's game.

This is the story told by Grandmother Leah as she
knitted a sock for her youngest grandchild.

Grandma, Grandma, tell us more,” the children
pleaded* But Grandmother Leah kissed their heads and
said it was time to go to sleep. “Tomorrow, children, is
.mother day. ' ’here will be a new candle in the Hanukkah
lamp, fresh snow on the ground, and I will tell you an-
other story/*

The Snow In Chelm

r .

THE SNOW IN CHELM

CHELM was a village of fools, fools young and old. One
night someone spied the moon reflected in a barrel of
water. The people of Chelm imagined it had fallen in,
Lliey sealed the barrel so that the moon would not
escape. When the barrel was opened in the morning and
the moon wasn't there, the villagers decided it had
been stolen. They sent for the police, and when the
thief couldn't be found, the fools of Chelm cried and
moaned.

Of all the fools of Chelm, the most famous were its
seven Elders. Because they were the village's oldest and
greatest fools, they ruled in Chelm. They had white
beards and high foreheads from too much thinking.

Once, on a Hanukkah night, the snow fell all evening.
It covered all of Chelm like a silver tablecloth. The
moon shone; the stars twinkled; the snow shimmered
like pearls and diamonds.

That evening the seven Elders were sitting and ponder-
ing, wrinkling their foreheads. The village was in need of
money, and they did not know where to get it. Suddenly
the oldest of them all, Gronam the Great Fool, exclaimed,
"The snow is silver!''

"I see pearls in the snow!" another shouted.

"And I see diamonds!" a third called out.

It became clear to the Elders of Chelm that a treasure
had fallen from the sky.

But soon they began to worry. The people of Chelm
liked to go walking, and they would most certainly
trample the treasure. What was to be done? Silly Tudras
had an idea.

"Lets send a messenger to knock on all the windows
and let the people know that they must remain in their
houses until all the silver, all the pearls, and all the
diamonds are safely gathered up, M

For a while the Elders were satisfied. They rubbed
their hands in approval of the clever idea. Rut then Dopey
Lekisch called out in consternation, "The messenger him-
self will trample the treasure/'

The Elders realized that Lekisch was right, and again
they winkled their high foreheads in an effort to solve
the problem,

"Eve got it !' 7 exclaimed Shmerel the Ox.

"Tell us, tell us/’ pleaded the Elders.

"The messenger must no! go on foot. He must be car-

tied on a table so that his feet will not tread on the
precious snow/'

Everybody was delighted with Shmerel the Ox's solu-
tion; and Lhe Elders, clapping their hands, admired their
own wisdom.

The Elders immediately sent to the kitchen for Gimpel
the errand boy and stood him on a table. Now who was
going to carry the table? It was lucky that in the kitchen
there were Treble the cook, Berel the potato peeler,
Yukel the salad mixer, and Yontel, who was in charge of
the community goat. All four were ordered to lift up
the table on which Gimpel stood. Each one took hold
of a leg. On top stood Gimpel, grasping a wooden ham-
mer with which to tap on the villagers’ windows. Off
they went.

At each window Gimpel knocked with the hammer and
called out, “No one leaves the house tonight. A treasure
has fallen from the sky, and it is forbidden to step on it.”

1 he people of (helm obeyed the Elders and remained
in their houses all night. Meanwhile the Elders them-
selves sat up trying to figure out how to make the best use
of the treasure once it had been gathered up.

Silly Tudras proposed that they sell it and buy a goose
which lays golden eggs. Thus the community would be
provided with a steady income.

Dopey Lekisch had another idea. Why not buy eye-
glasses that make things look bigger for all the inhab-
itants of Chelm? Then the houses, the streets, the stores
would all look bigger, and of course if Chelm looked
bigger, then it would be bigger. It would no longer be a
village, but a big city.

There were other, equally clever ideas. But while the
Elders were weighing their various plans, morning came
and the sun rose. They looked out of the window, and,
alas, they saw the snow had been trampled. The heavy
boots of the table carriers had destroyed the treasure.

The Elders of Chelm clutched at their white beards
and admitted to one another that they had made a mis-
take. Perhaps, they reasoned, four others should have
carried the four men who had carried the table that held
Gimpel the errand boy?

After long deliberations the Elders decided that if next
Hanukkah a treasure would again fall down from the sky;
that is exactly what they would do.

Although the villagers remained without a treasure,
they were full of hope for the next year and praised their
Elders, who they knew could always be counted on to find
a way, no matter how difficult the problem.

The Mixed-Up Feet
and The Silly Bridegroom

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THE MIXED-UP FEET
AND THE SILLY BRIDEGROOM

NEAR THE VILLAGE of Chclm there was a hamlet
called East Chelm, where there lived a tenant farmer
called Shnielka and his wife, Shmelkicha, They had four
daughters, all of whom slept in the same broad bed. Their
names were Yenta, Pesha, Trina, Yachna.

As a rule the girls got up early in the morning to milk
the cows and help their mother with the household
chores. Bui one winter morning they stayed in bed later
than usual. When their mother came to see what was
keeping them, she found all four struggling and scream
ing in the bed. Shmelkicha demanded to know what all
the commotion was about and why they were pulling each
other’s hair. The girls replied that in their sleep they had

gotten their feet mixed up, and now they didn’t know
whose feet belonged to whom, and so of course they
couldn't get up.

As soon as she Learned about her daughters' mixed-up
feet, Shmelkicha, who was from Chelm proper, became
exceedingly frightened, She remembered that a similar
event hud taken place in Chelm many years before and,
oh, how much trouble there had been. She ran at once
to a neighbor and begged her lo milk the cows, and she
herself set off for Chelm to ask the town’s Elder what to
do. Before she left, she said to the girls, “You stay in bed
and don’t budge until I return. Because once you get
up with tiie wrong feet, it will be very difficult to set
things right/ 1

When Shmelkicha arrived in Chelm and told the Elder
about what had happened to her daughters, he clutched
his white beard with one hand, placed the other on his
forehead, and was immediately lost in thought. As he
pondered he hummed a Chelm melody.

After a while he said, “There is no perfect solution for
a case of mixed-up feet. But there is something that some-
times helps/’

He told Shmelkicha to take a long stick, walk into the
girls’ room, and unexpectedly whack the blanket where
their feet were. “It is possible/' explained the wise Elder,
"that in surprise and pain each girl will grab at her own
feet and jump out of bed/' A similar remedy had once
been used in such a case, and it had worked.

Many townspeople were present when the Elder made
his pronouncement, and as always they admired his great
wisdom. The Elder stated further that in order to prevent

such an accident in the future* it would be advisable to
gradually marry oil the girls. Once each girl was married
and had her own house and her own husband* there would
be no danger that they would get their feet mixed up
again*

Shmelkicha returned to East Chelm, picked up a stick,
walked into her daughters' room, and whacked the quilt
with all her might. The girls were completely taken
aback, but before a moment had passed* they were out
of bed, screaming in pain and fright, each jumping on her
own feel, Shmelka, their father, and a number of neigh-
bors who had followed Shmelkicha into the house and
witnessed what had happened, again came to the conclu-
sion that the wisdom of the Elder of Chelm knew no
bounds,

Shmelka and Shmelkicha immediately decided to carry
out the rest of the Elder s advice and started looking for a
husband for their eldest daughter. They soon found a
young man of Chelm called Lemel. His father was a coach-
man, and Lemel himself already owned a horse anti
wagon. It was dear that Yenta s future husband would be
a good provider.

When they brought the couple together to sign the mar-
riage agreement* Yenta began to cry bitterly. Asked why
she was crying, she replied, 'Lemel is a stranger, and I
don't want to marry a stranger/'

“Didn't I marry a stranger? " her mother asked.

“You married Father/' Yenta answered, “and I have to
marry a total stranger/' And her face became wet with
tears.

The match would have come to nothing, but luckily

they had invited the Elder of Chelm to be present And,
after some pondering, he again found the way out* He said
to Yenta, ' Sign the marriage contract. The moment you
sign it, Lemel becomes your betrothed. And when you
marry, you will not be marrying a stranger, you will be
marrying your betrothed.'’

When Yenta heard these words, she was overjoyed,
Lemel kissed the Elder three times on his huge forehead,
and the rest of the company praised the wisdom of the
Elder of Chelm, which was even greater than that of wise
King Solomon.

But now a new problem arose. Neither Lemel nor Yenta
had learned to sign their names.

Again the Elder came to the rescue: "Let Yenta make
three small circles on the paper, and Lemel three dashes.
These will serve as their signatures and seal the contract."

Yenta and Lemel did as the Elder ordered, and every-
body was gay and happy. Shmelkicha treated all the wit-
nesses to cheese blintzes and borscht, and the first plate
naturally went to the Elder of Chelm, whose appetite was
particularly good that day.

Before Lemel returned to Chelm proper, from where
he had driven in his own horse and wagon, Shmelka gave
him as a gift a small penknife with a mother-of-pearl
handle. It happened to be the first day of Hanukkah, and
the penknife was both an engagement gift and a Hanuk-
kah present.

Since Lemel often came to East Chelm to buy from the
peasants the milk, butter, hay, oats, and flax which he
sold to the townspeople of Chelm, he soon came to visit
Yenta again. Shmelka asked Lemel whether his friends in

Chelm had liked his penknife, and kernel replied that they
had never seen it,

"Why not?’' Shmelka asked.

"Because L lost it."

I Iow did you lose it?"

"1 put the penknife into the wagon and it got lost in
the hay/'

Shmelka was not a native of Chelm but came from an-
other nearby town, and he said to kernel, "You don’t put
a penknife into a wagon full of straw and hay and with
cracks and holes in the bottom to boot. A penknife you
place in your pocket, and then it does not get lost."

"Future Father-in-law, you are right,” kernel answered.
"Next time 1 will know what to do/’

Since the first gift had been lost, Shmelka gave kernel
a jar of freshly fried chicken fat to replace it. kernel
thanked him and returned to Chelm.

Several days later, when business again brought kernel
to Fast (’helm, Yenta's parents noticed that Iris coat pocket
was torn, and the entire left side of his coat was covered
with grease stains.

"What happened to your coat?" Shmelkicha asked,

Lemel replied, "1 put the jar of chicken fat in mv
pocket, but the road is full of holes and ditches and 1
could not help bumping against the side of the wagon.
The jar broke, and it tore my pocket and the fat ran out
all over my clothes/'

Why did you put the jar of chicken fat into your
pocket?” Shmelka asked.

"Didn't you tell me to?”

"A penknife you put into your pocket, A jar of chicken

fat you wrap in paper and place in the hay so that it will
not break.”

Lemel replied, “Next time I will know what to do."

Since Lemel had had little use out of the first two gifts,
Yenta herself gave him a silver gulden, which her father

had given her as a Hanukkah gift.

When Lemel came to the hamlet again, he was asked

how lie had spent the money.

“I lost it,’’ he replied.

“1 low did you lose it?”

"I wrapped it in paper and placed it in the hay. But
when l arrived in Chclm and unloaded my merchandise,
the gulden was gone.'

“A gulden is not a jar of chicken fat,” Shinelka in-
formed him. “A gulden you put into your purse.’

“Next time 1 will know' what to do.’’

Before Lemel returned to Chelm, Yenta gave her fiance
some newly laid eggs, still warm from the chickens.

On his next visit he was asked how he had enjoyed the
eggs, and he replied that they had all been broken.

“How did they break?"

“I put them into my purse, but when 1 tried to close it.
the eggs broke.”

“Nobody puts eggs into a purse," Shmelka said. “Eggs
you put into a basket bedded with straw and covered
with a rag so that they will not break.”

“Next time l will know what to do."

Since Lemel had not been able to enjoy the gifts he had
received. Yenta decided to present him with a live
duck.

When he returned, he was asked how the duck was

f i l A J 'i

faring, and he said she had died on the way to Chelm.

"How did she die?"

'I placed her in a basket with straw and covered it well
with rags, fust as you had told me to. When I arrived
home, the duck was dead."

"A duck has to breathe,” Shmelkicha said. "If you cover
her with rags, she will suffocate. A duck you pul in a cage,
with some corn to eat, and then she will arrive safely,"

"Next time I will know what to do.

Since Lemel had gained neither use nor pleasure from
any of his gifts, Venta decided to give him her goldfish,
a pet she had had for several years.

And again on his return, when asked about the gold-
fish, he replied that it was dead.

"Why is it dead?”

\ placed it in a cage and gave it some corn, but when
I arrived it was dead."

Since Lemel was still without a gift, Yenta decided to
give him her canary, which site loved dearly. But Shmelka
told her that it seemed pointless to give Lome! any more
gifts, because whatever you gave him either died or got
lost. Instead Shmelka and Shmelkicha decided to get the
advice of the Elder of Chelm.

The Elder listened to the whole story, and as usual
clutched his long white beard with one hand and placed
the other on his high forehead,

After much pondering and humming, he proclaimed,
"The road between East Chelm and Chelm is fraught
with all kinds of dangers, and that is why such mis for-
tunes occur. The best thing to do is to have a quick mar-
riage. Then Lemel and Yenta w T ill be together, and Lemel

will not have to drag his gifts from one place to another,
and no misfortunes will befall them.”

This advice pleased everyone, and the marriage was
soon celebrated. All the peasants of the hamlet of East
Chelm and half of the townspeople of Ghelm danced and
rejoiced at the wedding. Before the year was out, Yenta
gave birth to a baby girl and Lemel went to tell the Elder
of Chelm the good tidings that a child had been born to
them.

“Is the child a boy?” the Elder asked.

"No."

“Is it a girl?”

“How did you guess?" Lemel asked in amazement.

And the Elder of Chelm replied, “For the wise men of
Chelm there are no secrets.”

The First Shlemiel

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THE FIRST SHLEMIEL

THERE ARE many shlemiels in the world, hat the
very first one tame from the village of Chelm, He had
a wife, Mrs- Shlemiel, and a child, Little Shlemiel, but he
could not provide for them* His wife used to get up early
in the morning to sell vegetables in the marketplace* Mr,
Shlemiel stayed at home and rocked the baby to sleep. He
also took care of the rooster which lived in the room with
them, feeding it corn and water,

Mrs. Shlemiel knew that her husband was unhandy
and lazy. He also loved to sleep and had a sweet tooth. It
so happened that one night she prepared a potful of
delicious jam. The next day she worried that while she was
away at the market, her husband would eat it all up. So

before she left, she said to him, “Shlemiel, I'm going to
the market and I will be back in the evening. There are
three things that 1 want to tell you. Each one is very im-
portant/ 1

‘What are they?"’ asked Shlemiel.

‘ First, make sure that the baby does not fall out of his
cradle*”

“Good. I will take care of the baby/’

“Secondly, don't let the rooster get out of the house/

‘Good. The rooster won't get out of the house/'

“Thirdly, there is a potful of poison on the shelf. Be
careful not to eat it, or you will die/' said Mrs* Shlemiel,
pointing to the pot of jam she had placed high up in the
cupboard.

She had decided to fool him, because she knew that once
he tasted the delicious jam, he would not stop eating until
the pot was empty. It was just before Hanukkah, and she
needed the jam to serve with the holiday pancakes.

As soon as his wife left, Shlemiel began to rock the baby
and to sing him a lullaby:

/ am a trig Shlemiel
You are a little Shlemiel.

When you grow up,

You will he a big Shlemiel
And I will he an old Shlemiel
When you have children,

You will be a papa Shlemiel
And. I will he a grandpa Shlemiel.

The baby soon fell asleep and Shlemiel dozed too, still
rocking the cradle with his foot.

Shlemiel dreamed that he had become the richest man
in Chelm. He was so rich that he could eat pancakes with
jam not only on Hanukkah but every day of the year* He
spent all day with the other wealthy men of Chelm playing
games with a golden dreidel. Shlemiel knew a trick, and
whenever it was his turn to spin the dreidel, it fell on the
winning “G/* He grew so famous that nobles from distant
countries came to him and said, "'Shlemiel, we want you to
he our king. 1 ’

Shlemiel told them he did not want to be a king. Bui
the nobles fell on their knees before him and insisted
until he had to agree, They placed a crown on his head
and led him to a golden throne. Mrs* Shlemiel, now a
queen, no longer needed to sell vegetables in the market*
She sat next to him, and between them they shared a huge
pancake spread with jam* He ate from one side and she
from the other until their mouths met*

As Shlemiel sat and dreamed his sweet dream the rooster
suddenly started crowing. It had a very strong voice*
When it came out with a cock-a-doodle-doo, it rang like a
bell* Now when a bell rang in Chelm, it usually meant
there was a fire* Shlemiel awakened from his dream and
jumped up in fright, overturning the cradle. The baby
fell out and hurt his head. In his confusion Shlemiel ran
to the window and opened it to see where the fire was.
The moment he opened the window, the excited rooster
flew out and hopped away.

Shlemiel called after it, ’Rooster, you come hack. If
Mrs. Shlemiel finds you gone, she will rave and rant and
I will never hear the end of it*”

But the rooster paid no attention to Shlemiel. It didn’t

even look back, and soon it had disappeared from sight,

When Shlemiel realized that there was no fire, he closed
the window and went back to the crying baby, who by this
time fiad a big bump on Ills forehead from the fall. With
great effort Shlemiel comforted the baby, righted the
cradle, and put him back into it.

Again he began to rock the cradle and sing a song:

In my dream I was a rich Shlemiel
Rut awake / am a poor Shlemiel*

In my dream I ate pancakes with jam ;

Awake I chew bread and onion ,

In my dream I was Shlemiel the Kmg
But atvake Vm just Shlemiel ,

Having finally sung the baby to sleep, Shlemiel began
to worry about his troubles. He knew that when his wife
returned and found the rooster gone and the baby with a
bump on his head, she would be beside herself with anger.
Mrs. Shlemiel had a very loud voice, and when she scolded
and screamed, poor Shlemiel trembled with fear. Shlemiel
could foresee that tonight, when she got home, his wife
would be angrier than ever before and would berate him
and call him names.

Suddenly Shlemiel said to himself, ‘What is the sense
of such a life? I'd rather be dead." And lie decided to end
his life. But how to do it? He then remembered what his
wife had told him in the morning about the pot of poison
that stood on the shelf, "That's what 1 will do. I will
poison myself. When I’m dead she can revile me as much
as she likes. A dead Shlemiel does not hear when he is
screamed at."

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Shleirriel was a short man and he could not reach the
shelf. He got a stool, climbed up on it, took down the pot,
and began to eat.

“Oh, the poison tastes sweet/' he said to himself* Tie
had heard that some poisons have a bitter taste and others
are sweet. “But/' he reasoned, “sweet poison is better than
bitter/ 1 and proceeded to finish up the jam. It tasted so
good, he licked the pot clean*

After Shlemiel had finished the pot of poison, he lay
down on the bed* He was sure that the poison would soon
begin to burn his insides and that he would die. But half
an hour passed and then an hour, and Shlemiel lay with-
out a single pain in his belly.

“This poison works very slowly/ Shlemiel decided. He
was thirsty and wanted a drink of water, but there was
no water in the house. In Chelm water had to be fetched
from an outside well, and Shlemiel was too lazy to go and
get it.

Shlemiel remembered that his wife was saving a bottle
of apple cider for the holidays. Apple cider was expensive,
but when a man is about to die, ivbat is the point of saving
money? Shlemiel got out the bottle of cider and drank it
down to the last drop.

Now Shlemiel began to have an ache in his stomach,
and he was sure that the poison had begun to work. Con*
vinced that he was about to die, he said to himself, “lt + s
not really so bad to die. With such poison I wouldn't
mind dying every day. 1 ' And he dozed off.

He dreamed again that he was a king* He wore three
crowns on his head, one on top of the other. Before him
stood three golden pots; one filled with pancakes, one

with jam, ami out: with tipple * n le i . Whenever he soiled
his beard with eating, a servant wiped it lor him with a
napkin.

Mrs, Shlemiel, the queen, .sat next 10 him on her sep-
arate throne and said, '( )l all the kings who ever ruled in
Chelm r you are the greatest. I lie whole of Chelm pays
homage to your wisdom, Foiiunaia is the queen of such
a king. Happy is the prime who has you as a lather/

Shlemiel was awakened by the sound of the door creak-
ing open. The room was dark and lie heard his wife's
screechy voice* “Shlemiel, why didn't you light the
lamp?"

“It sounds like my wife, Mrs. Shlemiel/' Shlemiel said
to himself. “But how is it possible that I hear her voice?
1 happen to be dead. Or can it be that the poison hasn’t
worked yet and I am still alive?" He got up, his legs shak-
ing, and saw his wife lighting the lamp.

Suddenly she began to scream at the top of her lungs,
"Just look at the baby! He has a bump on his head,
Shlemiel, where is the rooster, and who drank the apple
cider? Woe is me! He drank up the cider! He lost the
rooster and let the baby get a bump on his head. Shlemiel,
what have you done?"

"Don't scream, dear wife. Fm about to die. You will
soon be a widow/’

"Die? Widow? What are you talking about? You look
healthy as a horse."

“I've poisoned myself,” Shlemiel replied.

"Poisoned? What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Shlemiel.

"I’ve eaten your potful of poison."

And Shlemiel pointed to the empty pot of jam.

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'Poison? ' said Mrs. Shlemiel. 1 "That's my pot of jam
for Hanukkah."

But you told me it was poison/' Shlemiel insisted.
You fool," 1 she said. I did that to keep you from eating
it before the holiday. Now you’ve swallowed the whole
potful. ,3 And Mrs. Shlemiel burst out crying,

Shlemiel too began to cry, but not from sorrow. He wept
tears of joy that he would remain alive. The wailing of
the parents woke the baby and he too began to yowk When
the neighbors beard all the crying, they came running
and soon all of Ghelm knew the story. The good neigh
bors took pity on the Shlemiels and brought them a fresh
pot of jam and another bottle of apple cider. 1 he rooster,
which had gotten cold and hungry from wandering
around outside, returned by itself and the Shlemiels had
a happy holiday after all.

As always in Ghelm when an unusual event occurred,
the Elders came together to ponder over what had hap-
pened. For seven days and seven nights they sat wrinkling
their foreheads and tugging at their hear r Is, searching for
the true meaning of the incident. At the end the sages all
came to the same conclusion: A wife who has a child in
the cradle and a rooster to take care of should never lie to
her husband and Lell him that a pot of jam is a pot of
poison, or that a pot of poison is a pot of jam, even if he is
lazy, has a sweet tooth, and is a shlemiel besides.

The Devil’s Trick

THE DEVIL’S I'RICK

THE SNOW had been falling for three days and three
nights. Houses were snowed in and windowpanes covered
with frost flowers. The wind whistled in the chimneys.
Gusts of snow somersaulted in the cold air.

The devil’s wife rode on her hoop, with a broom in one
hand and a rope in the other. Before her ran a white goat
with a black beard and twisted horns. Behind her strode
the devil with his cobweb face, holes instead of eyes, hair
to his shoulders, and legs as long as stilts.

In a one-room hut, with a low ceiling and soot-covered
walls, sat David, a poor boy with a pale face and black
eyes. He was alone with his baby brother on the first night
of Hanukkah. His father had gone to the village to buy
corn, but three days had passed and he had not returned

home. David's mother had gone to look for her husband,
and she too had not come back.

The baby slept in his cradle. In the Hanukkah lamp
flickered the Hist candle, which David himself had lit.

David was so worried he could noi stay home any longer.
He put on his padded coat and his cap with earlaps, made
sure that the baby was covered, and went out to look for
his parents.

That was what the devil had been waiting for. He im-
mediately whipped up the storm, Black clouds covered
the sky. David could hardly see in the thick darkness. The
frost burned his face. The snow fell dry and heavy as salt.
The wind caught David by his coattails and tried to lift
him up off the ground. He was surrounded by laughter,
as if from a thousand imps.

David realized the goblins were after him, He tried to
turn hack and go home, but he could not find his wav.
The snow and darkness swallowed everything. It became
clear to him that the devils must have caught his parents.
Would they get him also? But heaven and earth have
vowed that the devil may never succeed completely in his
tricks, No matter how shrewd the devil is, he will always
make a mistake, especially on Hanukkah,

The powers of evil had managed to hide the stars, but
they could not extinguish the single Hanukkah candle.
David saw its light and ran toward it. The devil ran after
him. The devil's wife followed on her hoop, yelling and
waving her broom, trying to lasso him with her rope.
David ran even more quickly than they, and reached the
hut just ahead of the devil. As David opened the door the
devil tried to get in with him. David managed to slam

the door behind him. In the rush and struggle the devil s
tail got stuck in the door.

"Give me back my tail / 1 the devil screamed.

And David replied, "Give me back my father and
mother. 1 '

The devil swore that he knew nothing about them, bin
David did not let himself be fooled.

"You kidnapped them, cursed Devil,” David said. He
picked up a sharp ax and told the devil that he would cut
off his tail.

"Have pity on me, I have only one tail,” the devil
cried. And to his wife he said, "Go quickly to the cave
behind the black mountains and bring back the man and
woman we led astray,"

His wife sped away on her hoop and soon brought the
couple back. David’s father sat on the hoop holding on to
the witch by her hair; his mother came riding on the
white goat, its black beard clasped tightly in her hands.

"Your mother and father are here. Give me my tail/
said the devil.

David looked through the keyhole and saw his parents
were really there. He wanted to open the door at once and
let them in, but he was not yet ready to free the devil.

He rushed over to the window, took the Hanukkah
candle, and singed the devil’s tail. "Now, Devil, you will
always remember,” he cried, "Hanukkah is no time for
making trouble/’

Then at last he opened the door. The devil licked his
singed tail and ran off with his wife to the land where no
people walk, no cattle tread, where the sky is copper and
the earth is iron.

A Newbery Honor Book

Chelm is a village of fools. The most famous fools— the
oldest and the greatest— are the seven Elders. But there
are lesser fools too; a silly irresponsible bridegroom; four
sisters who mix up their feet in bed one night a young
man who imagines himself dead Here are seven magical
folktales, spun by a master storyteller, that speak of fools,
devils, shlemiels, and even heroes— like Zlateh the goat.

"Singer and Sendak for all ages — how simple, how per-
fect! The first Fool's Paradise,' and the last the title
story, are masterpieces." 1 — The Kirkus Reviews

"Beautiful stories for children, written by a master. "

— The New York Times

"Timeless tales with their subtle wisdom and universal
appeal. Perfect read-aloud fare for families ' 1

^Parents* Magazine

Isaac Bashevis Singer is the recipient of the 1978 Nobel
Prize for literature, and has written many classic books
for children and adults. Maurice Sendak is the author
and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning where the
wild things are, as well as numerous other acclaimed
books for children.

40147

0 46594 00495

ISBN 0-Db-4M014?~5

ATHENS PUBLIC

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